Biography

NoteCARDS:

Signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals on 3/13/13 as an unrestricted free agent after five seasons with Pittsburgh.

In five seasons with the Steelers, started 48 of 57 games played in the regular season and totaled 3,549 yards and 29 TDs on 864 rushing attempts while adding 77 receptions for 661 yards and two TDs. In three postseason starts, totaled 230 yards and four TDs on 61 rushing attempts.

Twice named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In his second career start, piled up 165 rushing yards and two TDs on 29 attempts vs. San Diego in Week 4 of the 2009 season. In Week 6 of the 2011 season vs. Jacksonville, totaled a season-high 146 yards and a TD on 23 carries.

Has rushed for 100+ yards in a game nine times (8 regular season, 1 postseason) and scored multiple TDs in a game six times (5 regular season, 1 postseason).

His 1,440 total yards in 2010 (1,273 rushing, 167 receiving) rank as the ninth-best single season total in Pittsburgh annals.

The Steelers first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft and the 23rd overall pick; was the first running back selected by Pittsburgh in the first round of the NFL Draft since the team selected Tim Worley in 1989 (7th overall).

Signing with Arizona, Mendenhall reunites with Bruce Arians, who served as the Steelers offensive coordinator during Mendenhall’s first four seasons.

Writes a blog for the Huffington Post website.

NoteCARDS:

Signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals on 3/13/13 as an unrestricted free agent after five seasons with Pittsburgh.

In five seasons with the Steelers, started 48 of 57 games played in the regular season and totaled 3,549 yards and 29 TDs on 864 rushing attempts while adding 77 receptions for 661 yards and two TDs. In three postseason starts, totaled 230 yards and four TDs on 61 rushing attempts.

Twice named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In his second career start, piled up 165 rushing yards and two TDs on 29 attempts vs. San Diego in Week 4 of the 2009 season. In Week 6 of the 2011 season vs. Jacksonville, totaled a season-high 146 yards and a TD on 23 carries.

Has rushed for 100+ yards in a game nine times (8 regular season, 1 postseason) and scored multiple TDs in a game six times (5 regular season, 1 postseason).

His 1,440 total yards in 2010 (1,273 rushing, 167 receiving) rank as the ninth-best single season total in Pittsburgh annals.

The Steelers first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft and the 23rd overall pick; was the first running back selected by Pittsburgh in the first round of the NFL Draft since the team selected Tim Worley in 1989 (7th overall).

Signing with Arizona, Mendenhall reunites with Bruce Arians, who served as the Steelers offensive coordinator during Mendenhall’s first four seasons.

Writes a blog for the Huffington Post website.

Pro Career:

Originally entered the league as the Steelers first round selection (23rd overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. Played five seasons in Pittsburgh before agreeing to a one-year contract with the Cardinals on 3/13/13 as an unrestricted free agent.

2012: Started four of the six games he appeared in, rushing for 182 yards on 51 attempts and adding nine receptions for 62 yards and a TD … inactive for the first three games of the season (@ Den, vs. NYJ, @ Oak) while still recovering from the injury that ended his 2011 season … made his 45th career start vs. Phi (10/7) and totaled a game-high 68 yards on 13 carries and hauled in his second career receiving TD on a 13-yard reception … started the following week @ Ten (10/11) but left the game in the third quarter with a sore left Achilles and did not return … inactive (Achilles) for the next four contests … returned to the starting lineup after missing the previous four games and totaled 33 rushing yards and 17 receiving yards vs. Bal (11/18) … inactive for the next two games (at Bal, vs. SD) … served one-game team suspension @ Dal (12/16) … led the team with 50 rushing yards, including a season-long 20-yard run vs. Cin (12/23).

2011: Started 15 regular season games and led the team in rushing attempts (228), rushing yards (928) and rushing TDs (9) … moved into ninth place for the most rushing yards in team history and moved into fifth place on the team’s career list for rushing TDs (29) … added 18 receptions for 154 yards … placed on injured reserve on 1/3/12 (knee) and missed the lone postseason contest … posted a game-high 66 yards and a TD on 19 attempts vs. Sea (9/18); TD gave him a rushing TD in seven straight games against opponents from the NFC … snapped a streak of 39 consecutive games played (including postseason) by sitting out the game vs. Ten (10/9) with a hamstring injury … posted a big game in his return from injury, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career after totaling a season-high 146 yards and a TD on 23 carries vs. Jax (10/16); 146 yards marked the fourth-highest single game rushing total of his career (151, 156, 165); averaged 6.3 yards per carry; totaled 113 rushing yards in the first half, marking the first time he surpassed 100 yards in the first half in his career and it was the first time a Steelers running back eclipsed 100 rushing yards in the first half of a regular-season game since Willie Parker on 12/7/06 vs. Cleveland (114 yards) … recorded his fourth career multi-TD performance with two rushing TDs @ Cin (11/13); two rushing TDs gave him 26 for his career, tying John Henry Johnson and Barry Foster for the fifth-best total in franchise history; also added one reception for 26 yards … with 57 rushing yards @ KC (11/27), became just the 12th player in franchise history to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards … made his 40th career start and totaled 60 rushing yards and two rushing TDs on 16 attempts vs. Cin (12/4); marked his fifth career multi-TD performance in the regular season; both TDs came in the first half, the first time in his career he accomplished that feat … recorded 116 rushing yards and a TD vs. StL (12/24), marking his eighth career 100-yard rushing game during the regular season and second of ’11; also recorded a career-long 35-yard reception … registered 38 rushing yards on eight carries in the regular season finale @ Cle (1/1/12), before leaving the game with a knee injury; with 3,367 career rushing yards, passed Walter Abercrombie (3,343) for the ninth-most rushing yards in team history … placed on injured reserve (knee) on 1/3/12, forcing him to miss the Wild Card matchup vs. Den (1/7/12).

2010: Started all 16 regular season games and all three postseason games in his third season … led the team in scoring in both the regular season (78 points) and postseason (24 points) … surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the second consecutive season, establishing career highs for rushing attempts (324), yards (1,273) and TDs (13), which put him in the top 10 for each category in Steelers history … posted three 100-yard games in the regular season and also caught 23 passes for 167 yards … during the postseason, led the team with 61 carries for 230 yards and four TDs, while adding four receptions for 52 yards … had his first career postseason 100-yard rushing game in the AFC Championship Game vs. the N.Y. Jets ... totaled 120 yards and a TD on 22 carries vs. Atl (9/12), including a game-winning 50-yard TD run in overtime; 50-yard TD run marked the longest TD run in OT since the 1998 season, when Garrison Hearst scored on a 96-yarder vs. the NY Jets on 9/6/98 … posted his second 100-yard rushing performance in three games after piling up 143 yards and a TD on 19 attempts (7.5 avg.) @ TB (9/26) … recorded his second career multi-TD performance with two TDs vs. Bal (10/3) … with a two-yard TD run in the fourth quarter vs. Cle (10/17), hit six consecutive home games with at least one rushing TD, dating back to the ’09 season … finished with a game-high 71 yards rushing and a TD on 15 carries (4.7 avg.) @ NO (10/31), with the TD coming on a 38-yard run in the fourth quarter … posted a game-high 99 yards and a TD on 22 attempts (4.5 avg.) @ Cin (11/8); TD was his seventh of the season, tying a career-high (2009) … established a new career mark with his eighth rushing TD of the season vs. Oak (11/21); TD came on a five-yard run in the second quarter … totaled a season-high 151 rushing yards on a career-best 36 attempts @ Buf (11/28); also added a one-yard TD in the first quarter; his 151 yards marked the third-highest of his career, and the 36 attempts bested his previous high of 29; the 36 attempts were the most by a Steeler since RB Willie Parker had 37 in Week 17 in 2006; marked his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and the sixth of his career … with 45 rushing yards @ Bal (12/5), surpassed 1,000 yards on the season, his second straight 1,000-yard campaign after totaling 1,108 yards in ’09 … posted a game-high 99 rushing yards and a TD on 17 carries vs. NYJ (12/19); scored from two yards out in the third quarter, marking his 10th rushing TD of the season; became just the fifth Steelers running back to have 10-plus rushing TDs in a single season; surpassed his career high for rushing yards in a single season … scored on a 35-yard run on the Steelers first offensive play of the game vs. Car (12/23), en route to 65 rushing yards on the day … recorded his second multi-TD outing of the season, and third of his career, with two rushing TDs in the regular season finale @ Cle (1/2/11); gave him 13 rushing TDs on the season, the most for a Steelers RB since Willie Parker had 13 in 2006; 13 rushing TDs tied for the second-best single-season total in franchise history (14, Franco Harris, 1976) … in his first career postseason game, finished with 46 yards rushing and scored two rushing TDs in the Divisional matchup vs. Bal (1/15/11); first career postseason TD came on a one-yard run in the first quarter and second TD proved the game winner with just 1:33 remaining in the game … posted his first career 100-yard rushing performance in the postseason with 121 yards and a TD on 27 attempts in the AFC Championship Game vs. NYJ (1/23/11); 121 yards ranked as the sixth-most in team postseason history; scored a one-yard rushing TD on the Steelers first drive of the game, his third TD in two postseason games; had a career postseason-long 35-yard run in the second quarter … started and totaled a game-high 63 rushing yards, including an eight-yard TD in the third quarter, in Super Bowl XLV vs. GB (2/6/11).

2009: Appeared in all 16 games with 12 starts and totaled 1,108 rushing yards and seven TDs on 242 attempts, averaging a career-high 4.6 yards per attempt … also added 25 receptions for 261 yards and a TD … became one of just seven RBs in team history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season … in just his second career start, earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after piling up 165 rushing yards and two TDs on 29 attempts vs. SD (10/4); marked the first 100+ yard game of his career … in his fifth consecutive start, rushed 22 times for 155 yards (7.0 avg.) @ Den (11/9) …totaled 80 yards rushing and caught four passes for 36 yards, including his first career TD reception @ KC (11/22) …rushed 20 times for 103 yards (5.2 avg.), including a season long 60-yard TD run in the first quarter vs. Oak (12/6); marked his third career 100-yard rushing game … caught six passes for a career-best 73 yards vs. GB (12/20) … made his 12th consecutive start and rushed for 36 yards and a TD vs. Bal (12/27); eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing on the season for the first time in his career … totaled 94 yards on 20 attempts (4.7 avg.) in the season finale @ Mia (1/3/10).

2008: As a rookie, appeared in four regular season games, with one start, before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4 vs. Baltimore … totaled 19 carries for 58 yards and caught two passes for 17 yards on the season … also returned six kickoffs for 115 yards … made his NFL debut as the backup to Willie Parker and rushed 10 times for 28 yards vs. Hou (9/7); also served as the team’s primary kickoff returner and had two returns for 46 yards, with a long of 27 … returned two kicks for 21 yards @ Cle (9/14) … recorded his first career reception for 11 yards in the fourth quarter and returned two kickoffs for 48 yards @ Phi (9/21) … made his first career start and rushed nine times for 30 yards and caught one pass for six yards vs. Bal (9/29); left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury … placed on injured reserve (shoulder) on 10/1.

College:

In three seasons with the Illini, gained 2,539 rushing yards, which ranked seventh in school history ... ran for over 100 yards nine times during his career (team compiled a 7-2 record in those contests), tying him for third in school history and his eight 100-yard rushing games in 2007 established an Illinois single-season mark … as a junior in 2007, established school single-season records with 1,681 rushing yards, 17 rushing TDs and 1,999 all-purpose yards on his way to being named third-team All-America by the NFL Draft Report … unanimous All-Big Ten Conference first-team choice and named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches and media ... recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football ... Doak Walker Award and Maxwell Award semi-finalist ... started all 13 games that season, carrying 262 times … also finished second on the squad with 34 receptions for 318 yards (9.4 avg.) and two TDs, as he scored 114 points and recorded two solo tackles ... as a sophomore in 2006, earned CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten Conference honors ... had a league-best 8.2 yards per carry for the season and finished second on the team with 78 attempts for 640 yards and five TDs ... caught 12 passes for 164 yards (13.7 avg.) and a TD … as a true freshman in 2005, appeared in 10 games, gaining 218 yards on 48 carries (4.5 avg.) while adding 13 receptions for 82 yards (6.3 avg.) and two TDs.

Personal:

Attended Niles West (Skokie, IL) High School, where he was a three-time All-Central Suburban Conference selection for football and two-time pick for track … rated the premier recruit in the state of Illinois by Scout.com, was rated 17th among national recruits by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was selected as the top recruit in the state of Illinois by the Chicago Sun-Times … participated in the fifth annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl ... earned All-State honors as a junior in both football and track, in addition to earning all-area honors for both sports as a sophomore and during his junior year for football … averaged 9.1 yards per carry as a senior, rushing for 1,453 yards 14 TDs ... as a junior, gained 1,832 yards and 19 TDs, averaging 11.6 yards per carry and recorded 1,300 yards and 21 scores as a sophomore ... had over 1,000 career receiving yards and 13 TD catches … Community Recreation major.